Air Liquide celebrates 100 years of operation and innovation in Canada

Air Liquide Canada today celebrates 100 years of operation across Canada. We opened our first air separation facility in 1911 in Montreal’s east end. Air Liquide Canada now has over 2200 employees working in more than 65 sites from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Through innovative solutions based on continually enhanced technologies, Air Liquide Canada is a key player in the manufacturing of numerous products that people use every day – literally pulling solutions out of thin air to preserve the environment and enhance quality of life. Air Liquide Canada is a subsidiary of the Air Liquide Group, the world leader in gases for industry, health and the environment, and is deeply involved in the field of medical gases and home health programs through its subsidiary, VitalAire Canada.

Molecules from nature

Air Liquide specializes in the production and distribution of gases derived from air, including oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, argon and helium. These industrial and medical gases, though invisible, are found everywhere and in nearly everything, serving the most varied needs imaginable. Healthcare, agri-food, electronics, transportation, aeronautics, environment, energy, metallurgy, mining, metals fabrication and refining – all these sectors are not only markets we have the opportunity to serve, but fields where Air Liquide Canada plays a direct, active role. For over 100 years, Air Liquide has innovated and advanced the energies of the future, in an ongoing quest for solutions to guarantee our company’s growth and the growth and success of our customers.

A forward-looking company

The arrival of Air Liquide in Canada coincided with the rise of heavy industry during the 1920s. Since our beginnings in Quebec, with ever-growing knowledge and experience, Air Liquide has played a key role in Canada’s economic growth, revolutionizing not just the gas delivery and distribution processes but also the applied technologies themselves – welding and metal cutting, for example, and the development of specialized gases for ultra-sophisticated medical applications.

In the words of Luc Doyon, president and CEO of Air Liquide Canada, “Our celebrations are an expression of gratitude to the people who work for and with us. That Air Liquide is the leader in our industry, both here in Canada and worldwide, is thanks largely to the excellence of the solutions we provide to our customers and the ongoing goal of our employees and colleagues to always innovate and find a better way to do the job. Our teams can be proud of their work and our organization’s past, and of their steadfast forward-looking attitude toward the future.”

Air Liquide Canada has continued its advance as the leading Canadian producer and supplier of gases and products for welding since the 1920s. The growth and strength of our performance, combined with our continually evolving skills and know-how, make Air Liquide Canada a company that has always been able to recognize, challenge, develop and improve the skills of our employees in order to respond to and provide made-to-measure solutions for our customers.

In Canada, Air Liquide stands out

Air Liquide Canada continues to demonstrate leadership through leading-edge projects which set us apart from the competition. In Vancouver, Air Liquide was responsible for the design and construction of the world’s largest hydrogen filling station, which now serves the new fleet of “green” buses launched in British Columbia for the 2010 Winter Olympics. To date, Air Liquide Canada has installed approximately 50 of these filling stations around the world. The hydrogen supplied by Canadian stations uses 98% renewable sources, in particular the hydroelectric power generated in Quebec.

In Alberta, we operate a cogeneration plant which can produce electricity and steam power to help refineries conform to the new regulations limiting nitrogen dioxide and sulphur oxide emissions.

Healthcare

The expertise of VitalAire Canada respiratory healthcare products and services is based on over 40 years of experience. With more than 80 clinics and 150 healthcare professionals, VitalAire is one of Canada’s leaders in home oxygen therapy services, sleep apnea programs and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Its medical gases and hospital services unit meets the needs of the Canadian market and currently supplies over 2000 hospitals and clinics across the country.

The past 100 years in our industry are living history – a history which began with a drop of liquefied air: 100 years of discoveries, 100 years of pioneering spirit, 100 years of industrial advances and technological innovation. Also 100 years of human adventure, 100 years in which generations of men and women succeeded in building Air Liquide Canada. Now, on the occasion of our 100th anniversary, we at Air Liquide Canada wish to honour all those who have made, and continue to make, our company the world leader that it is today.

Information:
Air Liquide Canada
Daniel Richard
Manager, Communications
514-846-7735

Air Liquide is the world leader in gases for industry, health and the environment, and is present in 80 countries with 43,600 employees. Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and rare gases have been at the core of Air Liquide’s activities since its creation in 1902. Using these molecules, Air Liquide continuously reinvents its business, anticipating the needs of current and future markets. The Group innovates to enable progress, to achieve dynamic growth and a consistent performance.

Innovative technologies that curb polluting emissions, lower industry’s energy use, recover and reuse natural resources or develop the energies of tomorrow, such as hydrogen, biofuels or photovoltaic energy… Oxygen for hospitals, homecare, fighting nosocomial infections… Air Liquide combines many products and technologies to develop valuable applications and services not only for its customers but also for society.

A partner for the long term, Air Liquide relies on employee commitment, customer trust and shareholder support to pursue its vision of sustainable, competitive growth. The diversity of Air Liquide’s teams, businesses, markets and geographic presence provides a solid and sustainable base for its development and strengthens its ability to push back its own limits, conquer new territories and build its future.

Air Liquide explores the best that air can offer to preserve life, staying true to its sustainable development approach. In 2010, the Group’s revenues amounted to €13.5 billion, of which more than 80% were generated outside France. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange (compartment A) and is a member of the CAC 40 and Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 indexes.